Holder for hanks of yarn or the like



June 12, 1934. A. LYON 1,962,513

HOLDER FOR HANKS OF YARN OR THE LIKE Filed Nov. 4, 1932 Patented June 12, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Albert Lyon, Paisley, Scotland Application November 4, 1932, Serial No. 641,149

In Great Britain December 14, 1931 14 Claims.

' and with the greatest of ease expanded to any desired size to suit with precision the hank to be held.

According to the invention, the improved hank-holder is characterized by a plurality of angularly spaced holding arms consisting of spring-metal strips, each strip being provided on a turnable reel and having a cross-section which is of flat shape when the strip is wound on the reel but which inherently adopts a curved shape when the strip is unwound, the unwound b? strip being thereby rendered rigidly straight lengthwise. Thus, the arms provide a strong but nevertheless flexible support for a hank of yarn, and the arms can be at once adjusted to suit the stretch of any hank simply by unwinding the strips to the desired extent, or even by allowing them. to unwind under their own spring action, as hereinafter explained.

In order that the invention can be clearly understood, a preferred construction thereof specially suitable for domestic use will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanyingdrawing, in which:--

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved holder. 7

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the holder.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 'III--III of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view of a fragment of one of the strips of curved shape in cross-section.

The holder preferably comprises a hollow supporting casing 5 which contains a wooden reel 6 mounted on a bolt 7 which passes through one side of the casing 5 and also through the reel 6. The head 8 of the ,bolt bears against the outer side of the casing, while a nut 9 in screwthreaded engagementwith the bolt presses upon a washer 9* bearing against a pad 16 of friction material (such as rubber) which in turn bears against the reel 6. The friction pad 10 is provided in order that, if the reel be rotated, the pad, nut and bolt will rotate in unison with it against the braking action arising from the frictional engagement between the casing 5 and the reel, assuming that the nut is tightened sufficiently. The reel 6 is provided with projections 11 by means of which it can be conveniently rotated.

The arms of the holder are composed of thin spring-steel strips 12 whose inherent curved shape in cross-section can be seen best in Fig. 66) 4. The shape may be termed camber-section or concavo convex section. These strips are attached to the periphery of the reel and pass from the casing by Way of guide openings 13 at the corners thereof, the casing walls serving as abutments against which the strips 12 bear where they pass through said openings. The arms terminate in fingers 14 which are riveted to the strips.

A hole 15 is drilled centrally through the head of the bolt and extends axially into the body thereof This hole permits the bolt to be placed in register with a pin 16 extending from a base 1'7 upon which the casing can be pivotally mounted.

A person intending to use the holder grasps the casing in one hand in such a manner that the axis of the bolt is substantially horizontal. The bank whose yarn has to be wound into a ball is then placed over the fingers 14 of the 8(1) upwardly extending arms. The person then. grips the projections 11 with the other hand and rotates the reel (against the braking action exercised on it by the casing) so as to unwind the strips until the strips have moved through the 35 openings 13 sufficiently for all the fingers 14 to press against and hold the hank. Alternatively, the person may slacken the nut 9 sufficiently to permit the reel to unwind automatically by the self-straightening spring action of go the strips themselves until the fingers 14 press against the hank, and the nut can finally be retightened once the hank is properly held. Thereafter, the bolt '7 may be placed in register with the vertical pin 16, and the holder is then in readiness for rotation around the pin 16 during the usual balling operation.

The arms, by virtue of their inherent curved shape in transverse cross-section when extended, are quite straight in lengthwise formation and rigid, and thus provide a strong support for the hank. It will be clear that the manner in which the length of the arms is adjusted to suit the stretch of the hank is extremely simple. It will also be clear that, when the holder is no longer required, the strips can be wound fiat upon the reel once more and thereby withdrawn into the interior of the casing, and that, accordingly, the space required for the accommodation of the holder is comparatively small.

I claim:---

1. A hank-holder comprising a support, guides spaced around said support, a journal member on said support, a reel rotatably mounted on said journal member, a plurality of resilient hank-receiving members inherently of curved cross-section attached to the reel and windable thereon, said resilient hank-receiving members extending from the reel in different directions by way of said guides, and means for holding the reel fast against rotation on said journal member.

2. A hank-holder comprising a casing, angularly spaced guide passages therein, a bolt extending through said casing, a reel rotatably mounted on said bolt and disposed within the casing, a plurality of spring-metal strips, which are inherently curved in transverse cross-section and rigidly straight in lengthwise formation and which are attached to the reel and windable substantially flat thereon, said strips passing in different angular directions to the exterior of the casing through the said guide passages, hank-engaging fingers at the ends of said strips, a nut screw-threaded on said bolt, and friction means for restraining the reel against inadvertent rotation on the bolt under the control of said nut.

3. A hank-holder comprising a support, guides spaced around said support, a reel rotatably mounted on said support, a plurality of resilient hank-receiving members inherently curved in transverse cross-section, said members being attached to and windable on said reel and extending tangentially from the reel by way of said guides, friction means bearing against said reel and a screw-device for forcing said friction means to hold the reel fast against rotation upon the support.

4. A hank-holder comprising a support, guides spaced around said support, journal means on said support, rotatable means on said journal means, a plurality of resilient hank-receiving members inherently of curved cross-section attached to said rotatable means and windable thereby, said resilient hank-receiving members extending from the support in diiferent directions by Way of said guides, friction means adjacent said rotatable means and a screw-device for forcing said friction means to hold said rotatable means fast against rotation on said journal means.

5. A hank-holder comprising a casing formed with an opening and guide passages, a screwmember extending through said casing and said opening, a reel rotatably mounted on said screwmember and disposed within the casing, fingerengageable means on said reel and extending through said opening, a plurality of spring-metal strips which are inherently curved in transverse cross-section and straight in lengthwise formation and which are each attached at one end to the reel and windable thereon by means of said finger-engageable means, said strips passing to the exterior of the casing through the said guide passages, hank-engaging fingers at the other ends of said strips, and a friction device on said screw-member for restraining the reel against inadvertent rotation.

6. A hank-holder comprising a casing formed with a central opening and angularly spaced guide passages, a bolt extending centrally through said casing and opening, a reel rotatably mounted on said bolt and disposed within the casing, finger-engageable means on said reel and extending through said opening, a plurality of springmetal strips which are inherently curved in transverse cross-section and straight in lengthwise formation and which are each attached at one end to the reel and windable substantially flat thereon by means of said finger-engageable means, said strips passing tangentially from the reel in different angular directions to the exterior of the casing through the said guide passages, hank-engaging fingers at the other ends of said strips, a nut screw-threaded on said bolt, and friction means between said nut and reel for restraining the reel against inadvertent rotation on the bolt.

7. A hank-holder comprising a support, winding means rotatably mounted on said support, a plurality of resilient hank-receiving members attached to said Winding means and windable flat thereon, said members being inherently curved in transverse cross-section and rigidly straight in lengthwise formation, abutments with respect to which said winding means is rotatable and against which abutments said members bear and past which said members extend from the winding means, and means for holding said winding means against rotation.

8. A hank-holder comprising a support, a journal constituting a part of said support, a winding reel on said journal, a plurality of resilient hank-receiving members attached to said reel and windable fiat thereon, said members being inherently curved in transverse cross-section and 105 rigidly straight in lengthwise formation, abutments with respect to which said winding means is rotatable and against which abutments said members bear and past which said members extend from the Winding reel, and friction means for holding said winding reel against rotation.

9. A hank-holder comprising a casing, openings spaced around said casing, winding means rotatably mounted in said casing, a plurality of resilient hank-receiving members attached to the 1 5 said means and windable fiat thereon, said members being inherently curved in transverse crossseotion and rigidly straight in lengthwise formation, and said members extending from the said means through said openings, and means for 129 holding said winding means against rotation.

10. A hank-holder comprising a casing, openings spaced around said casing, a journal on said casing, a winding reel on said journal, a plurality of resilient hank-receiving members attached to the said reel and windable flat thereon, said members being inherently curved in transverse cross-section and rigidly straight in lengthwise formation, and said members extending from the said reel through said openings, and friction means for holding said reel against rotation.

11. A hank-holder comprising a support, winding means rotatably mounted on said support, a plurality of resilient hank-receiving members attached to said winding means and windable flat thereon, said members being inherently curved in transverse cross-section and rigidly straight in lengthwise formation, abutments with respect to which said winding means is rotatable and against which abutments said members bear and M0 past which said members extend from the winding means, and screw-operated friction means for holding said winding means against rotation.

12. A hank-holder comprising a casing, openings spaced around said casing, a journal-bolt on said support, a winding reel on said journalbolt, a plurality of resilient hank-receiving members attached to the said reel and windable flat thereon, said members being inherently curved in transverse cross-section and rigidly straight 353.5

in lengthwise formation and said members ex tending from the said reel through said openings, a turnable retaining nut screw-threaded on said journal-bolt, and titer-engaging friction 1 surfaces between said nut and reel for holding said reel against rotation when said nut is tightened.

13. An adjustable hank-holder comprising a support, a reel journaled on said support, and extensible yarn carrying arms consisting of spring metal bands attached to and windable on the 

